Words, Hands, Hearts
by underthegreensward
Summary: Emily is sitting on Paige's bed. She's never really been here. When she was, it was always just for a few seconds before she and Paige went out. This was meant to be something short, but then I got distracted by them kissing.


Emily is sitting on Paige's bed. She's never really been here. When she was, it was always just for a few seconds before she and Paige went out. It's probably because Paige doesn't like being home that much, since her parents are nosy and still not really comfortable with Emily being her girlfriend.

But since Paige was kidnapped and almost killed, they pretty much only let her out of the house to go to school. Emily doesn't blame them. Actually she's kind of glad, because Paige is just a little bit safer that way.

And she gets to be in Paige's room. Looking around, she notices that there's almost no decoration, everything is kept simple. What catches her eye is a magnet board above Paige's desk, full of what seems to be pictures and movie tickets. Curious what else might be hanging there, Emily gets up to take a closer look.

Among pictures of a definitely younger Paige with her grandparents, an even younger Paige smiling a smile that is missing a front tooth holding a mini hockey stick and a group shot of their swim team, there is a picture of them near the bottom of the board. It was taken at the Brew, the both of them sitting on the couch after Emily's shift. Her legs are in Paige's lap, who has her arms wrapped around her waist and her face buried in Emily's neck. She is smiling wide and her eyes are closed, while Emily's head is thrown back in laughter.

Emily remembers the situation; they were at the Brew with Hanna and Aria, who somehow managed to get Paige out of her parents grasp. They were joking and eating cake and being happy. She didn't know of the picture, but she guesses that Hanna took it and sent it to Paige. Looking at it she feels a smile spreading across her face and her heart fluttering. She likes how obviously happy and in love they look, because really, that's what they are.

Making a mental note to ask Paige to send it to her, Emily looks what else is on the board. In the top right corner she sees some sort of tickets. They're too big to be movie tickets, so Emily reaches for them, trying to get them without knocking other things off. When she holds them, she realizes what they are. Concert tickets. 'Passion Pit – Liacouras Center – December 10th, 2010' is written on them in bold letters. The concert Paige invited her to.

Hands touch her waist lightly and then slide down to her hips. "I never went to see them.", Paige says into Emily's ear. Leaning back against her, Emily frowns. "Why didn't you go?" She feels Paige nuzzling her nose against her shoulder and a kiss being pressed there. "I wanted to go with you. But after the whole Samara thing that wasn't really an option. So I gave Troy his ticket and never went."

Emily puts the tickets back where she found them, before she turns around and loops her arms around Paige's neck. "Don't you regret that?" Paige starts playing with the hem of Emily's shirt and shakes her head. "I regret not telling my parents sooner, I regret missing the chance to go with you, but I don't regret not going. If I had gone there, I only would've thought about how you are not there with me." Emily twirls Paige's ponytail around her finger as she lets out a short laugh.

"You're ridiculously cute sometimes, you know that?" She can see the blush rising to Paige's face, despite her trying to hide it by looking down. She leans forward to press a kiss to her forehead, nudging her a bit to get her to look up again. When she finally does, Emily leans in further, covering soft lips with her own.

They stay like that for a while, exchanging small pecks that turn into deep kisses when Emily slides her tongue over Paige's bottom lip and pulls her closer. Paige slips her hand beneath Emily's shirt, her fingertips brushing over warm skin, along the spine and back down again. There is no rush, but Emily starts moving them towards the bed, until Paige hits it with the back of her knees and sits down.

Their kiss breaks for a brief moment when Emily pulls back just enough to straddle Paige's lap. Leaning down she claims those soft lips again, feeling Paige's hands moving towards her butt, pulling her even closer. Breaking the kiss once again, foreheads touching, they look at each other with little smiles on their faces.

Snaking her hands back under Emily's shirt, Paige cranes her neck to kiss along her jawline, down her neck, across her throat and to her clavicle. She presses featherlight kisses to the skin, feeling goosebumps rise where her lips touch it, where her fingertips brush it and the shiver running down Emily's spine. Grinning to herself she slowly stops the kissing and just holds Emily tightly to her.

Neither of them wants to take things further, at least not right now and especially not with Paige's parents downstairs.

Paige spreads her legs apart just far enough for Emily to slide between them, evening out their height. After a while, Emily pulls back from their hug to leave a kiss on Paige's nose and then one on the corner of her mouth, her cheek, her ear. She stops there, leaving her mouth near it to whisper "I love you."

Paige's breath catches in her throat and her heart skips a beat, just like it does every time Emily says those words. She's dreamed about this for so long, longer than Emily knows, longer than she likes to admit, that it sometimes seems unreal, like she's dreaming again. Still, she never fails to whisper "I love you, too." back.

Staying in their embrace, they leave kisses on each others skin every now and then, until their bodies demand a different position. Paige shuffles until she is lying down with Emily's head resting on her chest, her body snuggling into Paige's side. Emily takes one of Paige's hands in her own and draws patterns on the palm of it. Little circles become eights and eventually hearts. Paige smiles to herself and drags her left hand up and down Emily's spine.

"Paige?", Emily asks quietly, not wanting to destroy this moment and the silence. "Yeah?", Paige answers, and her chest vibrates, leaving Emily smiling at the feeling of it. "Can you tell me what else happened that night? Besides me kissing you and then disappearing?" Paige's hand stops moving for a second. "Are you sure?" Emily just nods. Moving her hand again, Paige starts speaking. "Okay. I was sitting in the living room watching a movie. When I wanted to go and get ready for bed, I heard something on the front porch, so I went outside to look. I saw that a flowerpot had been knocked over and then I saw you.

You were sitting there, looking at the streetlights, your whole body was shivering. I walked towards you and you turned around, smiling at me. You nearly fell over because you turned. When I asked you what you were doing here, you said 'I missed you, so I came over.', but you were slurring so much, I barely understood what you told me. Your lips were blue and you looked like you were going to fall asleep right there on my steps. That's why I brought you inside."

Paige stops for a moment and kisses the top of Emily's head. "We nearly walked into a wall because I couldn't hold you up properly. When I tried to get you to sit on the couch, you didn't let go of me. You grabbed my waist and pulled me closer. It was so hard not to kiss you, that when you kissed me, I just let it happen. It felt so right, but I knew it wasn't, so I pulled away from you. You lost your balance and fell onto the couch. I wanted to go to the kitchen, but you held my hand, pulled me back towards you and whispered 'No, don't leave me.' I told you that I was going to come back and that you needed to rest. And when I came back..." Paige's voice comes to a trembling halt.

"I was gone." Emily finishes and feels Paige nodding. "I knew it was too good to be true, but it still hurt when you weren't there anymore. I felt sick, because what I did was wrong and I was so worried about you. I called you, but you didn't pick up. I couldn't sleep. When I heard what else happened that night, the only thing I could think about was you being alive and safe."

Turning her head to look at Paige, Emily kisses her jaw before leaning her head against it. "I wish I could remember what happened. Especially the kiss, I hate that I can't remember it." Scooting down, Paige turns onto her side, looking into Emily's eyes. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore. Besides, it wasn't that good." she adds with a smirk. She gets a smack on the arm for that one, but that doesn't stop her from laughing. "Paige! You're lying. If I may remind you, it was you who said that it was like a dream."

Paige's laughter stops. "Yeah, that's because it was with you." Emily feels her heart melt. She bites her lip to keep herself from telling Paige how cute she is again, because it looks like there is more to come. Paige takes a deep breath. "You are my dream, Em. You have been since I talked to you for the first time. That's why everything feels like a dream right now, because I am with you, after everything I did and everything that happened. Because you want to be with me."

Emily can't take it anymore and takes Paige's face in her hands, pressing their lips together in an urging but gentle kiss. When they break apart, Emily whispers into Paige's lips "I want to be with you. So much. Never doubt that." Paige grips her waist and exhales, stealing another kiss. "I won't. I don't. I just never thought I'd ever be so happy." Emily smiles and tucks her head into the crook of Paige's neck. "Me neither. But I am." She's pretty sure she feels a tear falling from Paige's face, but she knows Paige is smiling, so she doesn't move. Not until Paige flips them, so Emily is lying on top of her, lips pressing into her neck and a hand drawing circles, then eights, then hearts on her skin.


End file.
